They Must Fall Down!
Why won't the laws of physics conform with the building code?
We've all seen them; there are hundreds in the county: old buildings and shacks built before the building codes and snow loads that simply won't fall down.
They were not built to code! They must fall down! Instead of wasting time making sure the county codes fit the general plan, they should be working to change the laws of physics so these buildings will fall down!
Here are four examples of the laws of physics making a mockery of our beloved building codes.
This old shed should have fallen into a heap decades ago, and while it loses a piece here and a piece there, winters come, the snow piles up, the wind howls across the valley but this building won't fall down!
This trailer was built in the 1950s, and it refuses to fall down. There were 6 feet of snow on it this winter. That isn't why it looks like this; the owner started recycling the trailer last fall and had to stop when snow fell. There was a tarp over it which blew away at some point in the winter, but otherwise it's pretty much unchanged.
This old house was built over a hundred years ago, long before the IBC, yet it refuses to fall down, even though it sits on rotting cedar pilings. At one point in the winter snow piled along the house almost reached the eaves. How much more of this can we tolerate?
This shed not only had more than six feet of accumulated snow on the roof, it was invisible, covered in snow most of the winter. Not a true building, since this shed sits on the ground, it nonetheless should fall down under the weight of snow and the forces of wind.
These are just a few examples, there are more shocking examples of buildings refusing to fall down all over the county, many of them snug warm homes or grand, rambling barns.
Something must be done! Either these buildings will have to fall down, or we'll be forced to admit that the building codes, and snow loads, are far too strict, that they are there not to protect people but to protect the county from lawsuit, and create profits for 3M and jobs for the glut of engineers we have. In that case, we'll have to admit we're being screwed.
We can't have that! The Board must change the laws of physics to match the building codes! These buildings must fall down!
We've all seen them; there are hundreds in the county: old buildings and shacks built before the building codes and snow loads that simply won't fall down.
They were not built to code! They must fall down! Instead of wasting time making sure the county codes fit the general plan, they should be working to change the laws of physics so these buildings will fall down!
Here are four examples of the laws of physics making a mockery of our beloved building codes.
This old shed should have fallen into a heap decades ago, and while it loses a piece here and a piece there, winters come, the snow piles up, the wind howls across the valley but this building won't fall down!
This trailer was built in the 1950s, and it refuses to fall down. There were 6 feet of snow on it this winter. That isn't why it looks like this; the owner started recycling the trailer last fall and had to stop when snow fell. There was a tarp over it which blew away at some point in the winter, but otherwise it's pretty much unchanged.
This old house was built over a hundred years ago, long before the IBC, yet it refuses to fall down, even though it sits on rotting cedar pilings. At one point in the winter snow piled along the house almost reached the eaves. How much more of this can we tolerate?
This shed not only had more than six feet of accumulated snow on the roof, it was invisible, covered in snow most of the winter. Not a true building, since this shed sits on the ground, it nonetheless should fall down under the weight of snow and the forces of wind.
These are just a few examples, there are more shocking examples of buildings refusing to fall down all over the county, many of them snug warm homes or grand, rambling barns.
Something must be done! Either these buildings will have to fall down, or we'll be forced to admit that the building codes, and snow loads, are far too strict, that they are there not to protect people but to protect the county from lawsuit, and create profits for 3M and jobs for the glut of engineers we have. In that case, we'll have to admit we're being screwed.
We can't have that! The Board must change the laws of physics to match the building codes! These buildings must fall down!
